Employment contract law in South Africa is highly regulated.  

Whether you are a permanent employee, fixed term contract employee, casual employee, or any other generic term used, in terms of South African Labour Law you are an employee (there is an employment agreement) and your minimum rights and obligations are defined, largely by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. 

What are work contracts or contracts of employment in South Africa? What even goes into a basic employment contract or standard employment agreement? What are the different terms and conditions of employment used in full time employment contracts (indefinite term contract), fixed term employment contracts, and casual employment contracts (temporary employment contracts) of employment in South Africa?  

In short, as long as you are not an independent contractor, there is no such thing as an open-ended contract in South African Employment Contract Law.

When you start a new job in South Africa, or even in your existing role, your terms of employment are defined by an employment contract. It defines the agreement between the employer and the employee. However, no matter what the written contract states, the minimum terms of a South African standard employment contract are set. In other words, a domestic worker without a contract of employment (i.e. no written employment contract) does not exist in South African Labour law, as anyone who works for a boss is actually a party to a contract of employment, and there is a contract between the employee and the employer, even if it is an implied employment contract. Think of it as the Department of Labour Employment Contract, and it being universal to all legal residents of South Africa. 

This relationship of Employment Contract Law is referred to as Labour Law. 

It governs (but not limited to):

1. Casual worker contract 

2. Executive contract agreements  

3. Project based employment contracts 

4. Collective employment agreements

5. Employee rights

6. Changes to terms and conditions of your employment.